2.1 Study Area
Shivapuri–Nagarjun National Park (SNNP) (Figure 1) is the only
protected area in the mid–hill region of Nepal. The Park covers an area
of 159 square kilometers with a buffer area of around 118.61 square km.
It lies within 27°45’ to 27°52’ N latitude and 85°16’ to 85°45’ E
longitude. It has an altitude ranging from 1360–2732 m ASL. The Park is
rich in freshwater resources with abundant biodiversity, and cultural
heritage (SNNP, 2017). The park possesses a subtropical to warm
temperate with average maximum and minimum temperature of 19.9°C and
11.15° respectively with the mean annual precipitation of 236.5 mm
(Climatic data from 1985 to 2017 AD, Department of Hydrology and
Meteorology/ DHM).
The mountainous topography of SNNP with steep slopes of >
30% uses a pattern that constitutes 74.45% forest, 20.45% shrub land,
3.22% grassland, 1.80% cultivated area, and 0.055% other features
(SNNP, 2017). Different forest types are present under different
altitudes of the Park; Lower Mixed Hardwood, Chir pine Forest, Oak
Forest, and Upper Mixed Hardwood Forest (Amatya, 1993). The major tree
species are Schimawallichii , Alnusnepalensis ,Castronopsis spp., Myricaesculanata , Madhucaindica ,Pinusroxburghii , Pyruspashia , Aesculus sp,Acer sp., Salix sp., Lithocapus sp, Ilex
dipyrena , etc.